KALISPELL — Northwest Montana is normally the perfect place for winter traditions. But halfway through February, it's looked a lot warmer than usual — causing many winter traditions to have to find new ways to keep them alive.
One of the events that had to adapt was the Whitefish Winter Carnival's Penguin Plunge.
"For many of our plungers, this is our first run in a plunge, so usually we cut a hole in the ice and plungers walk out and jump in. But this year they have the joy of running in," said Montana Special Olympics LETR senior director Amy Bliss.
Watch to learn more about this winter's changes in the Flathead Valley:
Even though plungers had to sprint into the freezing lake, they still enjoyed the tradition.
"It's crazy that it's been that warm and we still were able to bust out the ice and have everyone jump in," said Colby Baker, Penguin Plunge participant.
The famous Cabin Fever Days Barstool Races also saw a vast difference in Sugar Hill, which is normally draped in piles of snow but was completely barren this year, canceling all of the races.
"We spent this year building our sled, came up with our theme, and were excited about it. Bummed out we couldn't go down the hill today, but we're making the best of it," said No Snow Barstool Ski Show participant Randy McClain.
While many traditions adapted, there was one that had to be canceled — Whitefish skijoring.
The warm winter has also affected recreation, including ice fishing.
"We kind of missed the first one-third of our ice fishing season," said Chancy and Dave's Fish Camp employee Cody Elletson.
Elletson said the ice fishing business has been slower than the average winter.
"Business has been kind of slow, because we get a lot of ice fishing stuff in December and usually it kind of pops off right there," Elletson said.
But luckily for traditions and recreation alike, cold weather is coming.
"There is some cold weather on the horizon, so it's looking good," Elletson said.
